


Little White Horsies

by heyjupiter



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-30
Updated: 2012-01-30
Packaged: 2017-10-30 08:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/329628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After receiving head injuries during a training accident, Raven watches Erik and Charles play an addled game of chess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little White Horsies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pocky_slash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocky_slash/gifts).



> Written for pocky-slash after a joke on Twitter today?

"Excuse me. Excuse me. Could you tell me your name?" Hank asked, in a calm-but-firm professional voice.

Charles blinked, finally registering the spoken words. He looked up and said, "Charles. Francis. Xavier. How could you have forgotten my name, Hank?"

"Forgive me, Charles, I was merely testing your current mental acuity. You were knocked unconscious during a training accident."

"I am really, really, sorry," Alex said.

"Well, that explains why my head hurts more than usual," Charles mused. "Oh, Alex, no worries. Was anyone else hurt?"

"Well--" Hank said, glancing over at one of the living room's other couches, where Erik lay prone.

"Erik! Oh dear," Charles said.

"I believe you're both suffering from concussions. You should be fine, really, especially if Erik wakes up soon, which--oh."

Erik sat bolt upright on the couch and looked around. "Erik!" Charles said happily.

"Excuse me, could you tell me your name?" Hank asked.

"It's Erik," Erik said, with a withering glance.

"Um. Yes. Well, do you know what day it is?"

"October 10, 1962," Erik said crisply. "Would it be too much of a bother to get some aspirin before I tell you that the current president of the United States is John Fitzgerald Kennedy?"

"I voted for him," Charles said. "I wouldn't mind some aspirin either, mind."

"Yes, of course," Hank said. He passed them each a glass of water and two white pills from a bottle that had been sitting on the coffee table.

"Excellent," Charles said. He set his glass on the table, leaned back, and closed his eyes. Hank gently shook him awake.

"I-I'm sorry, Charles, but you should really stay awake for the next few hours."

"But I'm tired. And my head hurts."

"Excuse me, but I believe I am going to vomit," Erik said, calmly removing himself from the living room.

"Oh dear," Charles said. He closed his eyes again. Raven settled on the couch next to him and poked him.

"Stay awake!" she said. "Alex, can you go make some tea?"

"Uh," Alex said. "That's just, like, hot water and tea, right?"

"No," Charles said, with a vaguely horrified tone. "Raven, please, will _you_ go make us some tea?"

Raven sighed. "All right, Charles, but only because you're suffering from a head injury."

"Yes," Charles said. "Yes I am."

Raven stalked off to the kitchen. Erik returned from the bathroom, his breath smelling of mint, and settled on the couch next to Charles. Charles leaned his head against Erik's shoulder and closed his eyes. Erik gently pushed Charles back into an upright position and said, "Charles, you have to stay awake."

"Yes, of course. Head injury," Charles said.

Erik stood up and pulled Charles to his feet. "Let's play some chess, all right? Something to keep your mind occupied." He looked around the room, confused. "Where is the chessboard?"

"'s in the library," Charles said. "This is the living room. Well, one of the living rooms. Well, it's more of a parlor, really."

"Yes. Of course," Erik said. "Where is the library?"

"It's. It's this way," Charles said, waving his hand vaguely. "We were just there last night."

"Yes. Well. This is a very large house, you know," Erik said.

"Also, we both have head injuries," Charles said.

"Indeed you do," Hank muttered. "Chess should be a fine activity--try to limit your physical activity for the next day or so," he called, as Erik and Charles made their way to the library, only slightly unsteadily. There they found the chessboard, the pieces reset after the game they'd played last night.

Erik picked up a pawn in each hand, closed his fists, and held them out to Charles.

"Let me see. The white one is in your left hand and the black in your right. You're thinking that I should be white," Charles said.

Erik blinked and handed Charles the white pawn. "Not how that usually works, you know," Erik said.

"Have I done something wrong?" Charles asked.

Erik smiled. "Not at all. Have a seat," he said, waving at the white side of the board. Charles sat down and stared at the board in wonderment.

"There are so many pieces," he said.

"The usual amount," Erik replied.

A few minutes later, Raven came in with a tea tray. She handed each man a cup. "Oh, _thank you_ , Raven!" Charles said.

"You're welcome. How's the game?"

"He's playing remarkably well for a concussed individual."

"Hank said you _both_ had concussions," Raven pointed out.

Erik shrugged. Charles said, "Concussions can manifest in a variety of different ways. Short term memory loss, nausea, headache, dizziness, sensitivity to light..."

"Mm-hmm," Raven said. "Well, I guess Erik got the nausea, and you got the loopiness."

"Loopiness?" Charles asked. "Loopiness."

"It's your move, Charles."

"Loopiness," Charles repeated as he studied the board. "Would it be loopiness to move this horsie over here?"

Raven laughed. "It's called a knight, Charles, and I think it would be a perfectly sensible move."

"Yes," Charles said seriously, "because it--" He broke off and continued telepathically, _sets me up perfectly to take Erik's, um, little tower._

 _Rook,_ Raven supplied for him.

"Yes!" Charles said aloud, turning his wide smile on Raven. Raven sighed and brought a chair over for herself, so she could watch the game and keep an eye on her brother. Erik gave her a lingering glance, but said nothing.

Erik quietly made his move, and Charles took his rook, just as he'd planned.

After observing a few more moves, Raven asked, "How is it possible you're still winning at chess, Charles?"

"Because I am very intelligent," Charles said. "Of course, so is Erik. And the game isn't over. But I think--" he cut off and stared at the board. "Yes, I think--" his hand hovered over a bishop before returning to the knight. "What a good horsie," he said.

"I think I am going to vomit, again," Erik said. "Please excuse me."

"That is a waste of perfectly prepared tea," Raven said, after Erik had left the room.

"Oh, no, not a waste," Charles said. "I'm sure he enjoyed it very much when it was going down."

When Erik returned, he continued sipping his tea. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and made a bold move with his queen. Unfortunately for him, Charles captured the queen on his next turn.

"You're totally losing to a man who thinks the knights are called 'horsies,'" Raven said.

"Yes," Erik said. "I am aware of that."

Four turns later, Charles said, "Check?"

"Yes," Erik said gloomily. "Check."

"Check _mate_ ," Charles said the next turn.

"Well played, Charles," Erik said.

"Thank you, my friend. Same to you," Charles said gravely. Then he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Dammit, Charles," Raven said. "Come on. Wake up. I'll play a game with you if you wake up."

Charles's eyes opened. "Raven, you haven't played chess with me since you were fifteen years old."

Erik said, "It's fine, Raven. I'll play another match if it will keep him awake."

"Well, thank you for your sacrifice," Raven said.

"And then," Charles said, "could we take a small nap?" He held up his thumb and forefinger to indicate an inch-long nap.

"I'm gonna send Hank in here to check on you guys later," Raven said.

"I assure you, we'll be fine," Erik said.

Raven kissed Charles's cheek. "Good luck to you and your horsies," she said.

"Thank you, my dear," Charles said. He began resetting the board. As he placed the pieces on the board, he gently stroked the manes of the small marble horse heads and smiled happily. Erik shook his head, but returned the smile.

"Your move, Schatz," Erik said. "Start with one of the little rounded ones."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Pinch Me, I'm Concussed.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8016466) by [until_the_earth_is_free](https://archiveofourown.org/users/until_the_earth_is_free/pseuds/until_the_earth_is_free)
  * [Little White Horses (The Drag Him Away Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11290968) by [arcapelago (arcanewinter)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcanewinter/pseuds/arcapelago)




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